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John McCain
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"I believe climate change is real, I think its devastating, I think we have to act, and I agree with most experts that we may at some point reach a tipping point where we cannot save our climate...The overwhelming evidence says that greenhouse gases are contributing to warming of our earth and we have an obligation to take action to fix it"
"The burning of oil and other fossil fuels is contributing to the dangerous accumulation of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere, altering our climate with the potential for major social, economic, and political upheaval. The world is already feeling the powerful effects of global warming, and far more dire consequences are predicted if we let the growing deluge of greenhouse-gas emissions continue, and wreak havoc with God's creation."
"There is not a doubt in my mind that climate change is real and we have neglected our obligation to this generation of young Americans because we may be handing them a very bad and damaged planet."
"I believe it is going to be technology that gets us through this very difficult period as greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase and further damage is done to our planet."
Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, also pledged to work with the European Union to diplomatically engage China and India, two of the world’s biggest polluters, if those nations refused to participate in an international agreement to slow global warming.
"I believe America did the right thing by not joining the Kyoto Treaty. But I believe that if we could get China and India into it, then the United States should seriously consider it on our terms."
Does not support the United Nations (Kyoto Conference) treaty regarding global climate change.
Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT Jan 13, 2000
Supports further studies and has "serious concerns'' over the Kyoto Protocol
Voted NO on an amendment that requires each electric utility that sells electricity to electric consumers to obtain a percentage of the base amount of electricity it sells to electric consumers in any calendar year from new renewable energy or existing renewable energy.
In 2005, voted against a renewable portfolio standard that would have required the U.S. to get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
"When oil is $15 a barrel, ethanol does not make sense. When oil is $60-plus a barrel, then ethanol does make sense."
Meet the Press: Meet the Candidates 2008 series May 13, 2007
Voted NO on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%)
Energy Policy Act of 2005; Bill S.Amdt. 784 to H.R. 6 ; vote number 2005-140 on Jun 16, 2000
Voted YES on defunding renewable and solar energy
Motion to table the recommital; Bill S. 1186 ; vote number 1999-171 on Jun 16, 1999
Voted to not require ethanol in gasoline
Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995; Bill H.R. 4624 ; vote number 1994-255 on Aug 3, 1994
John McCain said a federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling should be relaxed and states should be given greater incentives to permit exploration off their coasts as a way of solving what he called the country's "energy crisis."
"We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use."
Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR
Bar Oil and Gas Leasing amendment; Bill S Amdt 2358 to S 1932 ; vote number 2005-288 on Nov 3, 2005
Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge anti-drilling Amendment; Bill S AMDT 168 to S.Con.Res. 18 ; vote number 2005-52 on Mar 16, 2005
Voted YES on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill
Bill SConRes 23 ; vote number 2003-59 on Mar 19, 2003
In what his campaign promoted as a major speech on climate change, the Arizona senator renewed his support for a "cap-and-trade" system in which power plants and other polluters could meet limits on greenhouse gases by either reducing emissions on their own or buying credits from more efficient producers...In his speech, Mr. McCain advocated cutting emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050; Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama propose cutting them by 80 percent over the same period, while the Lieberman-Warner bill calls for a 70 percent reduction.
Supports 'cap and trade' systems and wants to reduce carbon emissions by 65% by 2050
Introduced the Climate Stewardship Act of 2003
"We have to have a cap and trade system where if someone reduces greenhouse gases, they earn a credit and can sell it to someone else."
Introduced a bill to cap carbon dioxide emissions
Sen. John McCain called Wednesday for the construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 and pledged $2 billion a year in federal funds "to make clean coal a reality," measures designed to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Believes the U.S. should embrace nuclear power as a way to generate energy without directly producing greenhouse-gas emissions. His 2007 Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would take some of the money raised from auctioning emission allowances and make it available for loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants and R&D into new types of nuclear plants.
Q: Do you have a problem with Big Oil companies making these huge profits? A: Sure, I think we all do. And they ought to be reinvesting it. And one of the areas that they ought to be involved in is nuclear power. Nuclear power is safe, nuclear power is green and does not emit greenhouse gases.
2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007
Voted YES on approving a nuclear waste repository
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997; Bill S. 104 ; vote number 1997-42 on Apr 15, 1997
"Nuclear power must be part of any equation that leads to addressing climate change..."
On American auto-makers: "I am confident they can do more, and do it faster, in the interest of our energy security. And if I am elected president, they will. Whether it takes a meeting with automakers during my first month in office, or my signature on an act of Congress, we will meet the goal of a swift conversion of American vehicles away from oil."
Voted YES on targeting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010
Bill S.14 ; vote number 2003-212 on Jun 10, 2003
Voted NO on terminating corporate average fuel economy standards within 15 months
Bill S.517 ; vote number 2002-47 on Mar 13, 2002
Introduced S.1926 which sought to ease burden on manufacturers by allowing distinctions between cars and light trucks to continue through 2010, at which time manufacturers’ passenger car fleets would have to average 33.2 mpg while their light truck fleets would have to average 26.3 mpg.
McCain's other environmental missteps have been widely reported. He publicly opposed a December Clinton administration order banning new road construction in 50 million acres of national forest in the Southwest. The decision was best decided by locals, McCain said: "The idea that Washington knows best and that local residents cannot be trusted to do what's right in their own backyard is the epitome of federal arrogance." If elected, McCain has said he would repeal the road moratorium, along with President Clinton's 1996 decision to create the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.
McCain called for new investment in the country's 379 national parks, including the creation of bonds backed by park visitation fees. He proposed to create "capital development bonds" to refurbish the parks. Under his plan, the secretary of the interior would contract with private fund-raising groups to issue the bonds. McCain also said that $800 million recently awarded to the federal government from a settlement over disputed Alaska oil lease revenues should be dedicated to the parks.
NY Times, p. A22 Dec 21, 1999
Voted NO on a bill to designate certain lands in the California Desert as wilderness, to establish Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Mojave National Parks, and for other purposes.
California Desert Protection Act of 1993; Bill S. 21 ; vote number 1994-326 on Oct 8, 1994
In 1999 McCain attached a rider to the Defense Appropriations bill that would have permanently transferred to the Pentagon 7.2 million acres of federal wildlife refuge land managed by the BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Service, where they would become used as a bombing range and a testing ground for a new generation of missiles.
McCain struck again the following year, when he placed a rider onto the California Desert Preservation Act, allowing military flights over the wilderness areas and national preserves created by the act.
Require states to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately-owned land, "consistent with Constitutional takings clause."
Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT Jan 13, 2000
Q: Do you think tougher laws are needed to protect our environment? A: Theodore Roosevelt was my hero and is to this day. He was responsible for the National Parks system, the crown jewels of America. They are $6 billion underfunded, they’re under enormous strain.
GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa Jan 16, 2000
On a $3 million dollar study of grizzly bear DNA: "I don't know if it was a paternity issue or criminal, but it was a waste of money."
McCain sponsored a resolution for the International Whaling Commission to end whaling and illegal trade in whale meat
Resolution sponsored by 20 Senators 01-SR121 on Jun 29, 2001
On endangered species at a Arizona military base: In November, Senator John McCain submitted legislation requiring that the Department of the Interior and Defense Department study the transfer and determine the best natural resource manager for the entire range.
[McCain] denounced proposals to breach dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers to save endangered salmon.
He duly introduced legislation exempting the $520 million project [which proposed University of Arizona development on a national forest which contains many endangered species] from compliance with the Endangered Species Act, Antiquities Act and the Native American Religious Freedom Act.
Voted NO on a bill that authorizes $16.71 billion in appropriations for Amtrak and railroad safety measures.
In 2000, when he was chairman of the Senate Science, Commerce and Transportation committee, McCain killed $10 billion in capital funding for Amtrak.
"There's only two parts of the country that can support a viable rail system - the Northeast and the far West."
"Amtrak should be restructured to eliminate its reliance on the American taxpayers and to allow for its privatization."
Voted NO on restoring $550M in funding for Amtrak for 2007
Santorum amendment to Transportation funding bill; Bill S.Amdt.3015 to S.Con.Res.83 ; vote number 2006-052 on Mar 15, 2006